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Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Research pp 99–112Cite as

Positive Psychology and the Quality of Life

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Abstract

Positive psychology is the scientific study of the qualities and conditions that permit humans to live a life worthwhile. Positive psychology has fostered several new strains of research, three of which are brought together in this chapter – the study of flourishing, positive emotional dynamics, and character strengths and virtues. This research seeks to balance out the bulk of theory and research in quality of life studies that focus on the causes and dynamics of pathology, and it supports the premise of positive psychology that attention to “the positive” sheds light on what makes life worth living. This chapter reviews the body of scientific evidence supporting the promotion of human flourishing, positive emotions, and character strengths, and seeks to bring these lines of research together to foster research that investigates a central hypothesis of positive psychology – namely, that increasing character strengths and virtues promote flourishing, and the mechanism by which character strengths and virtues promote flourishing is through the broaden-and-build process caused by the balance of positive to negative emotional dynamics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Emory University, Room 225 Tarbutton Hall, 1555 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Corey L. M. Keyes

  2. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 309 Davie Hall, CB 3270, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Barbara L. Fredrickson

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881-0808, USA

    Nansook Park

Authors
  1. Corey L. M. Keyes
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  2. Barbara L. Fredrickson
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  3. Nansook Park
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Corey L. M. Keyes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duke University, Hudson Hall 130, Durham, 27708, North Carolina, USA

    Kenneth C. Land

  2. , Faculty of Arts, Brandon University, 18th Street 270, Brandon, R7A 6A9, Manitoba, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  3. Pamlin College of Business, Dept. Marketing, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Pamplin Hall 2025, Blacksburg, 24061-0236, Virgin Islands, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

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Keyes, C.L.M., Fredrickson, B.L., Park, N. (2012). Positive Psychology and the Quality of Life. In: Land, K., Michalos, A., Sirgy, M. (eds) Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2421-1_5

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